[mikeg]

Quote:

Originally posted by Edwood That's why I still have my Senn 600's. -Ed

I tried the 600s, but they were too remote, laid back, and dull. I perfer the K1000 and RS-1, which to my ears are much superior. The problem could, of course be my somewhat diminished hearing.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by Calanctus Dolby Headphone is included in the Denon 5803 receiver and in Power DVD software. There may be a few more commercial products that include it; a search here will likely turn them up.

Yes, there are the processors from Pioneer (imported by Audiocubes from Japan), the seemingly-endlessly-delayed processor from Philips, and Denon's high-end minisystem has one too -- but still, this is a pittance given the number of DVD players and A/V receivers out there.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Snake Anybody have a photograph of them (K1000's), preferably on a head? This sounds extremely interesting and I would love to see what they look like doing as described.

I think someone was crazy enough to post such a picture in this thread.

 

[Snake]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch I think someone was crazy enough to post such a picture in this thread.

Thanks.

Does kinda look...unusual...on the head like that, huh??

 

[scottder]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch I think someone was crazy enough to post such a picture in this thread.

The K1000 as a portable, now that is brave

Driven by a SuperMini and PCDP?!?!

 

[Snake]

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic Yes, there are the processors from Pioneer (imported by Audiocubes from Japan), the seemingly-endlessly-delayed processor from Philips, and Denon's high-end minisystem has one too -- but still, this is a pittance given the number of DVD players and A/V receivers out there.

I just did some searching - the Pioneers seem to come with their own cans. I also looked into the Sennheiser DSP-360; I found 1 very cheap yesterday but I downloaded the PDF manual today and it says it only does Dolby Surround processing - no general purpose stereo.

Has anyone ever tried a DSP-type processor / enhancer with cans? Find one that sounds good? Like Aphex or such (hopefully better). Or just stick with crossfeed like the X-Feed?

 

[Anders]

Ian,
"what album or track would be your reference for testing soundstage?"

I used various classical record when I explored sounstage with HD650 some weeks ago, as Mahler Sympony 2 / Solti, Decca; Mutter Modern / album with Stravinsky, Lutoslawski etc, DG and Beethoven, Piano Concert and Sympony 5, Serkin/Ozawa, Telarc SACD hybrid.

Especially the last Telarc recording brought up a huge, deep and high soundstage. Height of course doesn't mean that there are instuments high up but that one can hear the ambience and reverberations in air or the hall.

I wouldn't call it carefully selected references, just the records I picked for my test.

 

[Geek]

Yes, but you have to spend mountains of cash in order for it to appear as coherent as possible. No matter how much you spend on headphones, the soundstage will not be quite as realistic as speaker / live soundstage.

Lots of recordings just don't have a soundstage (they just plain suck) especially most newly released CDs. You will need to look for good recordings as your equipment gets pricier and more powerful.

Soundstage is probably the greatest weakness of headphones, followed by imaging.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[Edwood]

Yeah, I guess it's like those virtual reality 3D glasses. No matter how good they are, they're never as good as the real thing.

But they can be alot more convenient.

-Ed

 

[Theresamarie1]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch I think someone was crazy enough to post such a picture in this thread.

A great pic it is!!

They don't look quite as big as I thought they would. My A900s would give them a run for their money in terms of outrageously large!

 

[Theresamarie1]

Quote:

Originally posted by Geek Yes, but you have to spend mountains of cash in order for it to appear as coherent as possible. No matter how much you spend on headphones, the soundstage will not be quite as realistic as speaker / live soundstage. Lots of recordings just don't have a soundstage (they just plain suck) especially most newly released CDs. You will need to look for good recordings as your equipment gets pricier and more powerful. Soundstage is probably the greatest weakness of headphones, followed by imaging. Cheers, Geek

So what's the difference between soundstage and imaging? I was originally using soundstage to refer to the "size" of the room the music seemed to be in. Then I thought it should really be some kind of definition of staging of the instruments in front of me. But maybe I was mistaken again..

Maybe that's what imaging is supposed to be?

When I close my eyes listening to my speakers, most of the time the lead singer is right in front of me and a little high. Then the drums, guitars, are in an arc in front of me. I love classical music even more like this as I like the way different instruments play in different spaces in the air.. It's harder with my eyes open.
While I can get a better spacial definition of headphone music with my eyes closed, everything still seems to be on a verticle plane which goes through my ears. And never in front of or behind. It's still pleasing, but not AS pleasing as nice speakers.

 

[TravelLite]

Quote:

Originally posted by Snake Has anyone ever tried a DSP-type processor / enhancer with cans? Find one that sounds good? Like Aphex or such (hopefully better). Or just stick with crossfeed like the X-Feed?

Yes. A high-quality digital reverb/multi-effects outboard processor can really be something to behold when used with headphones. Amazing stuff.

Performance-wise, feature-wise, and price-wise the sky is the limit with units available from Lexicon, TC Electronic, Kurzweil, and others. In the higher-end units, the degree of sophistication is nothing short of spectacular.

TravelLite

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally posted by Theresamarie1 So what's the difference between soundstage and imaging?

Soundstage is the whole band, imaging is picking out a single instrument.

 

[Geek]

What wallijohn said.

Soundstage could be described as where the music is positioned (is it a tiny blob, does it envelop you, is it a vast gigantic room, is it on a 120 degree wide stage in front of your head, etc). Imaging would be the exact positions of performers.

The more speaker-like a headphone, the better it gets in this department.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[Theresamarie1]

Quote:

Originally posted by Geek What wallijohn said. Soundstage could be described as where the music is positioned (is it a tiny blob, does it envelop you, is it a vast gigantic room, is it on a 120 degree wide stage in front of your head, etc). Imaging would be the exact positions of performers. The more speaker-like a headphone, the better it gets in this department. Cheers, Geek

Thanks WalliJohn and Geek, I think it's a combination of both imaging and soundstage that I miss the most. I do get various room size impressions with my various headphones but never anything leaving the plane going through my ears and straight up. Nothing forward, nothing backwards. I do get imaging, but it's on that same plane and not nearly as nice as the imaging with speakers. But to be fair, with speakers, the soundstage is larger so it's a lot easier to place different instruments in difference places.

That said, I still enjoy my headphones immensely. A couple of days ago I picked up a new remastered elton john yellow brick road and wanted to listen to it at appropriate volumes and my partner was complaining... popped on the a900s and while they can't match the klipsch's, they were still a great listen.

Hey, maybe I can strap my Forte's on my head since they have a 98db sensitivity...tilt them a little... yessss..